Of ships and bubbles: a supply chain driving maritime hydrogen

Boom, bam! Exciting energy news alert, boys and girls! A super team of scientists has created a new supply chain model that could give the international renewable hydrogen industry a super boost. How about that? Hydrogen has been touted as the cleanest and greenest fuel of the future, it is generated from water and does not emit a speck of carbon. But there’s a little problem, boys and girls! Transporting that hydrogen over long distances is expensive, and unfortunately we don’t yet have the infrastructure to do it.

But don’t worry, our favorite scientists from Australia, Singapore and Germany have come together to create a new supply chain model that is solving this problem. Yes, yes, they are! According to Associate Professor Kaveh Khalilpour, leader of the report and super expert on the subject, supply chain design is key to making hydrogen affordable. They have studied the export of renewable hydrogen from Australia to Singapore, Japan and Germany. Guess what you found out? It is important to decide whether to export “hydrogen as atom” or “hydrogen as energy”! Each option has a different impact on the supply chain. It’s all a mess, boys and girls! Therefore, to make the right decisions, we need to thoroughly understand the entire system. It’s not an easy task, but we’re working on it!

Hydrogen is expected to be something of an energy lifeline that will help diversify Australia’s renewable energy sources beyond solar and wind power. This is crucial for the country’s energy security and to combat climate change. Let’s hope it works! Professor Reinhard Madlener, one of the brainiacs of the project at RWTH Aachen University in Germany, tells us that the crux of the matter is whether raw materials such as green hydrogen, methanol or ammonia can be exported profitably and competitively, even at long distances and across oceans. Imagine bringing green energy to other parts of the world! It would be a revolution, my friends!

And there you have it, boys and girls! Science is advancing by leaps and bounds to make us a cleaner and more sustainable world. Maritime hydrogen could be the next big thing, and these scientists are leading the way. Until the next energetic adventure!